WORLD REVIEW

Hokitika Guardian, 27 February 1932, Page 6

WORLD REVIEW

BY SHIPPINC MAGNATE. EXPRESSIONS OP IMPRESSIONS WELLINGTON, Feb. 26 Sir William Ellis, managing director of the firm of John Broun and Company, of Sheffield and Glasgow, arrived in New Zealand to-day, accompanied by Lady Ellis. Sir William’s firm is the one which built the Rangitiki and her two sister ships for the New Zealand Shipping Company, and incidentally it is the firm entrusted with building the giant new Cunarder.

Sir William is retiring from aetivo work after 53 rather strenuous years in various branches of engineering, and he is taking the first oportunity of visiting New Zealand and Australia, as he is specially interested in the New Zealand Alps, in view of his long association with climbing in Switzerland as a member ol the Alpine Club. He is also looking forward to seeing the Sydney Harbour bridge on his arrival in Australia. Sir William was rather disinclined to speak on the political position in Europe, and said that as an engineer, not a. politician, his opinion was not of great value; but the position in India was being watched with great anxiety. He felt that the advent of the National Government would introduce a firmer policy with regard to the Indian problem. This would to some extent abate the revolutionary spirit that had resulted in various murders of Europeans and ott/er disturbances arising out of Indian feeling that England was not willing to show a sufficiently strong hand to suppress these outrages, which were so deplorable. Since the time of hi s leaving England the position between Japan and China had become much more acute and it would undoubtedly require very careful handling internationally to avoid it developing into a position where other countries were involved, said Sir William. No doubt the Japanese had very strong reasons to justify their landing troops in Shanghai ; but at present the information afEorded had not divulged what their real grievances were.

TARIFFS AND EMPLOYMENT “The industrial' position in Britain is very unsatisfactory/ said Sir William. “with very large numbers of unemployed existing. The National Government was established with a strong Conservative majority, larger than ever previously known, with mandate to take whatever action is thought desirable in the interests of industry and trade; and it is hoped that the tariff measures it is proposing to introduce will result in a benefit to the 'Home will certainly not be adopted in such a way as to prejudice the interests of Britain’s various overseas Dominions. Properly applied, it is hoped that the tariffs will lead to further facilities for trading with the Home Country, it being felt that Britain is in a unique position relatively to other nations for co-operation with her overseas associated countries, resulting in further development of trade mutually.

SHIP-BUILDING IN DUSTHY. “The ship-building industry, in which 1 am largely interested, is in a very unsatisfactory condition,” continued Sir William, “and is very adversely affected by the American financial position, which has resulted in many important liners being laid up owing to the volume ot Amcrian travel having fallen off so seriously. Naturally, ship-owning companies dare not embark on the building of further tonnage, in spite of the favourable prices ruling at present, until they can see reasonable prospect of the volume of foreign travel materially increasing. An instance ol this is present in the minds of many people in the case of the giant Cunarder being built by John Brown and Company, but on which work has been suspended for the time being lor financial and economic reasons.”

Sir William and Lady Ellis will spend five weeks in New Zealand, and will visit Christchurch, on route for the Hermitage, where they are looking forward to the same pleasure in being among the New Zealand Alp* as lias been theirs for so manys years in Switzerland. In connection with, this, Sir William showed to a reporter an ice axe made of stainless steel, which is probably the first one made, and certainly the first one to visit New Zealand. He hopes that resisting the power of New Zealand ice may not prove too great a task for it.